As the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice prepares to hold its International Conference in Banjul, the Gambia, part of deliberations at the conference, is the appraisal of the judgment enforcement mechanism of the Community Court.
The conference, with the theme “ECOWAS’ Zero Tolerance for Unconstitutional Change of Government” will hold between Monday 22nd to Thursday 25th of May 2023.
One of the sub themes of the conference is Appraisal of the Judgment Enforcement Mechanism of ECOWAS Court of Justice.
Issues for Consideration are the Judgment Enforcement Mechanism of ECOWAS Court of Justice, Challenges of the Judgment Enforcement Mechanism and how to strengthen the Judgment Enforcement Mechanism.
The President of the ECOWAS Court of Justice, Justice Edward Amoako Asante speaking in Abuja, Nigeria lamented over the non-enforcement of the court’s judgments, “the enforcement of its judgment remains its Achilles heels, in this regard, the court has a record that one hundred and six (106) of its judgment have not been enforced by member states while another eleven (11) are outstanding against ECOWAS institutions”.
However, Justice Amoako noted that the court has contributed immensely to the strengthening of some underpinnings of democracy such as respect for human rights and the protection of the freedom of expression by holding Member States accountable for their International Treaty obligations.
Participants at the conference will also examine the linkages with the rule of law, the duty of Member States to respect, protect and fulfil human rights in their territories; the underlying factors for political instability, terrorism and insecurity in the region; failure by Member States to fulfil their obligations to ECOWAS, weak institutions of Member States, as well as the lack of political will for the implementation of community obligations.
Other areas of focus include, examining the mandate of the Court in facilitating the integration process of the Community and holding Member States accountable for their Treaty obligations; the roles of the national courts of Member States and the ECOWAS Court of Justice in upholding and sustaining the rule of law among others.
Hauwa M.
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